Marauding Bison

The great prairies of the mid west were home to millions of bison who roamed in very large numbers eating the grass and then moving on very quickly. This gave the grasses a good time to recover before the bison returned. There is also a French scientist who spent his life studying grasses and how they grow. He discovered that by grazing for a very short period then leaving the grass to fully recover the plant grew at its optimal rate. It turns out that a gras grazed or cut immediately releases exudates from its roots which in turn feed the soul fungi and bacteria. These are then food for the rest of the soil life which provide nutrients to grow more grass and build soil organic matter. This pulsing of grazing/mowing builds soil fertility at a tremendous rate. It also sequesters carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. These are all great things for the farm and the world we live on.

Our rotations are built on a year of pasture and then two years of production vegetables. We do not buy in any fertility, we grow it all ourselves using this method of mowing the grass mimicking marauding bison.